Sierra Leone discharges last known Ebola patient

Sierra Leone has released its last known Ebola patient, according to the World Health Organization. 35-year-old Adama Sankoh was discharged from a treatment center in the northern Bombali district on Monday morning.

The country hasn’t reported a new infection for more than two weeks, according the the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC). However, a small number of cases are still being reported in neighbouring Guinea.

The milestone comes 15 months after the outbreak was declared in Sierra Leone. Almost 4,000 people have died of Ebola in that country since then. The country’s President Ernest Bai Koroma attended the celebrations at the clinic run by International Medical Corps.

Vanessa Wolfman, the Medical Director at the facility, said: “Today is a day of hope. People hope this is the beginning of the end. We have fought for so long.”

But the celebrations are tempered with caution. The country still has 28 people in quarantine. They will continue to be monitored until the end of the week in case they develop symptoms. (BBC)